To recap for the uninitiated, the five-time Grand Slam champion and youngest world No. 1 admitted to testing positive at Wimbledon for cocaine, denied ever taking the drug, and retired for a second time while vowing to clear her name. Bizarre.

Yes, we know the Swiss Miss is getting up there in tennis years -- she's 27 -- and has been limited by a hip injury, which can be damaging (just ask Gustavo Kuerten), but it seems like a pretty easy way out for someone who's grit and guile made her one of the most dominant players of her time.

When the actual suspension comes from the International Tennis Federation, usually two years, Hingis can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, and if she's as innocent as she claims, who knows, the punishment could be shortened. Note that 29-year-old Mariano Puerta, the 2005 French Open runner-up, is on the comeback trail after serving two drug bans, with both of his cases pretty complex. His second sanction of eight years was reduced to two by CAS last year, though it had nothing to do with using a recreational drug.

Wonder how many of Hingis's colleagues, or past ones, have any sympathy for her. Remember, she referred to the classy Amelie Mauresmo as a "half man" in 1999, called German legend Steffi Graf "old" a year earlier -- Graf promptly got her revenge by winning a highly memorable 1999 French Open final -- and dumped former Wimbledon champ Jana Novotna as a doubles partner because she was old and slow, Novotna claimed.

FINE FEDERER: Kudos to Federer, a far less controversial Swiss.

The world No. 1 usually never plays three weeks in a row, but there he was, taking part in the Paris Masters after reaching the final in Madrid and winning in his hometown of Basel.

Of course some might say he only showed up to make he sure he gets his $1.5 million bonus (the top four players in the ATP's race, based on results in a single calendar year, get hefty ones as long as they compete in Paris and Madrid), but he didn't exactly turn up and go home.

He slugged out a three-set win over Ivo Karlovic, perhaps the most improved player in 2007, then went toe to toe against Nalbandian in the third round. Federer could have packed it up when the Argentine was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, though he stepped it up to force a tiebreaker, which he eventually lost, and exited.

His comment afterwards that the court was too slow notwithstanding, it's reason No. 100 why he's a great ambassador.

Could the same be said of Djokovic? Not yet. OK, so he just had his wisdom teeth removed, but his performance against a bandaged Santoro, 34, was dire. If Davydenko was fined $2,000 for not trying in St. Petersburg, Russia last month, Djokovic surely should have been warned, at the very least. He clearly had no intention of winning.

Djokovic is third in the ATP race and stands to collect $500,000, for those of you wondering why he just didn't pull out.

THE WEEKLY DAVYDENKO DOSE: The ATP said last week Davydenko wasn't being targeted because of what's happened to him so far this season. What happened Thursday suggested otherwise.

Davydenko served 10 double faults in his 6-2, 6-2 defeat to the ever-smiling Marcos Baghdatis in Paris, and at one point during a changeover in the second set, chair umpire Cedric Mourier incredibly urged the Russian to serve just like him. He added that Davydenko was serving "too many" doubles and told him to try his best.

Whether he was just having a "normal" exchange with a player, as the ATP said, or coming down hard on Davydenko, only Mourier knows. But he should have known better.

"If I was sitting in (Davydenko's) place, I might have taken a chainsaw to that umpire's chair," said John McEnroe's old doubles partner, Peter Fleming.

If it wasn't apparent in St. Petersburg -- and it should have been -- it's clear Davydenko is in crisis on his serve, a la Guillermo Coria.

Effort has nothing to do with it.

MADRID MENTION: Nothing has come easy to Justine Henin this year -- even though it's looked easy -- so it's no surprise she was drawn in the tougher of the two groups at this week's year-end championships in Madrid, Spain.

At the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, Henin had the tougher half, too.

SECOND SERVES:Fernando Gonzalez and Richard Gasquet, still unconvincing, sealed the last two spots at the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Nalbandian is the first alternate. ... Think Federer likes facing Argentines? That's four losses to them this year, the other two inflicted by Guillermo Canas. Juan Monaco almost took him out in Hamburg, Germany. ... Scotland's Andy Murray, edged by Gasquet for a Masters Cup berth, and coach Brad Gilbert were involved in a minor car crash in Paris on Monday. Both were OK. ... Pete Sampras will play an exhibition match against a player to be determined at the SAP Open in San Jose next year.